


Shaking my Fetters

by Nebulapaws



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda (Video Game 1986), The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: A little bit of comfort, Angst, Blood, Captivity, Febuwhump, Gen, Hurt, Hyrule (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Hyrule (Linked Universe)-centric, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Impaling, Imprisonment, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), More Hurt, Not Beta Read, Protective Blue Link, The Author Regrets Nothing, Violence, Whump, kinda hurt/comfort, lots of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29390133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebulapaws/pseuds/Nebulapaws
Summary: Drip.Hyrule shifted a little in his uncomfortable position with his arms manacled behind his back. He tapped the cold bands on his wrist.Drip.He tried to ignore the guilt that wormed its way into his brain. The thoughts that slithered along with it; the thought that he could do something right now. He could help his friend.DripSubconsciously, he turned his gaze to his cellmate; his brother.Blue was laying against the frigid, musty cobblestone walls. A limp, shivering hand clutching his stomach. He’d been impaled by a strange-looking spear attempting to free Hyrule and escape.Drip.At first, Hyrule thought that loud, resounding dripping was water. They were in the sewers, he thought. Twilight’s Hyrule. Dripping would make sense.Drip.It was Blue’s blood, slipping down from his fingers and unto the slick stone floors. Thin, bright red blood pooled where he sat, growing bigger by the minute.OR;;Hyrule and Blue get captured by some monsters, they try to escape and Blue gets impaled by a spear! As they await rescue, while Hyrule stews in his guilt.
Relationships: Blue Link & Hyrule (Linked Universe), Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe), Red Link & Blue Link & Vio Link & Green Link
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156928
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Shaking my Fetters

**Author's Note:**

> _“We talked about making it  
>  I'm sorry that you never made it  
> And it pains me just to hear you have to say it  
> You knew the game and played it  
> It kills to know that you have been defeated  
> I see the wires pulling while you're breathing”_  
> \- “Wires” by The Neighbourhood.
> 
> tw; blood and violence with a little smattering of self-hatred.

**_Drip._ **

Hyrule shifted a little in his uncomfortable position with his arms manacled behind his back. He tapped the cold bands on his wrist. 

__ _ Drip. _

He tried to ignore the guilt that wormed its way into his brain. The thoughts that slithered along with it; the thought that he could  _ do _ something right now. He could help his friend. 

__ _ Drip _

Subconsciously, he turned his gaze to his cellmate; his  _ brother _ . 

Blue was laying against the frigid, musty cobblestone walls. A limp, shivering hand clutching his stomach. He’d been impaled by a strange-looking spear attempting to free Hyrule and escape. 

_ Drip. _

At first, Hyrule thought that loud, resounding dripping was water. They were in the sewers, he thought. Twilight’s Hyrule. Dripping would make sense. 

_ Drip. _

It was Blue’s blood, slipping down from his fingers and unto the slick stone floors. Thin, bright red blood pooled where he sat, growing bigger by the minute. 

His blood seemed as thin as water. 

_ Drip. _

Hyrule hoped he was unconscious. It didn’t negate the pain, but floating in a blissful black is much better than the aching reality that they’re trapped in the  _ sewers _ of all places. 

A groan alerted Hyrule that he was, in fact, not unconscious. 

_ Drip. _

__ Blue mumbled something poisonous under his breath, then groaned in agony. His sharp Egyptian blue eyes locked onto him, making Hyrule’s insides squirm. Blue’s skin was pale, nearly translucent. Purple bruises formed angrily on his cheeks and knuckles and blood dribbled down his chin. 

_ Drip. _

“You okay?” he rasped. 

Hyrule silently wondered how Blue had the  _ gull _ to ask  _ him _ if  _ he _ was okay. Blue, the boy who was bleeding out from getting impaled with a spear right  _ in front of him _ was asking  _ him _ if he was okay. 

He was tempted to tell the truth but--

_ Drip. _

That was the last thing that Blue needed to hear right now. 

“I’m..fine” Hyrule lied. His voice sounded scratchy from disuse-- _ and screaming.  _ He shifted a little, wincing at the fetters that pulled at his shoulders. 

_ Drip. _

Hyrule had seen his fair share of death. Sometimes, the death was at the end of his own blade, slick with thick crimson blood. Sometimes the death was someone he knew, someone he loved. 

_ Drip. _

But… he could have  _ done _ something. 

_ Drip. _

He could have helped Blue. Stood up and took the punches so he didn’t have to. But Hyrule wasn’t as tough as Blue, he wasn’t as brave or strong. He certainly wasn’t as spiteful, either. 

Blue coughed, and Hyrule was brought back to the present. 

“Hopefully, it won’t be much longer until the others come and save us,” Hyrule tried. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, more than he was trying to convince Blue.

“They will,” Blue rasped. He was shivering, and sweat shined on his forehead. Hyrule shifted nervously in his bonds once again, itching to help.

_ Drip. Drip. Drip. _

__ Another not-so-friendly reminder that Blue was  _ dying _ and it was all Hyrule’s fault. 

“My brothers are fucking idiots--” Blue continued with a laugh, that he proceeded to choke on. “They get their shit done.”

It kinda sounded like he was talking out of experience. 

Vio, Hyrule supposed,  _ had _ been trying for two years to get his mysterious friend back. Whatever that meant. 

_ Drip. Drip. _

Hyrule thought he heard a crash accompany the ever-present dripping of Blue’s blood. He must’ve been imaging things. 

Blue mumbled something under his breath, his eyebrows were knitted together as though he was in a lot of pain. That was to be expected, Hyrule supposed because he was  _ literally bleeding to death. _

_Drip._ _Drip. Drip._

He could do something. He really could.

_ Drip. Drip. Drip. _

He wondered, distantly, if Blue wasn’t the only one who was punished for their escape attempt. If his hands were free--like Blue’s--he could have healed Blue by now. 

Instead, he could only watch as the life  _ drip drip dripped _ out of Blue. 

_ Drip. Dr--  _ **_BOOM_ ** !

The door promptly shot forwards at the blast. At the doorway stood Red and Green with Vio and Wolfie. 

Hyrule immediately straightened. “W-wait, save Blue--”

Vio’s eye snapped to Blue, and for a moment Hyrule saw horror twist his expression before it was smoothed down. Red and Green, however, had no such qualms with sharing their emotions. Green screamed, and Red promptly burst into tears. 

Wolfie growled and nuzzled Red’s hand. He jolted and roughly pulled out his fire rod. It’s ruby gem sizzled and crackled with heat. Flames sputtered from the rod, melting the metal of the bars until they were cooling blobs of silver on the floor. 

As soon as the bars melted, Red dashed inside the cell and fell at Blue’s side. Green threw conflicting looks at Hyrule and his brother but was quickly stopped by Vio. The boy gave Green a curt nod and pulled a hair clip from his ratty hair. 

He whispered something to the burley wolf at his side and clambered on his back. “Hold still.” 

Hyrule did his best not to fidget, his eyes never leaving Blue. It broke his heart to see the states of the boy’s brothers--Red was still in tears, trying to shake Blue awake, while Green stood silently behind Red, mumbling something to his brother. 

The moment Hyrule felt the chains holding his arms back fall away, he dashed to Blue’s side, and gently pushed Red aside. He felt the soft tingle of magic flow through his fingertips, like putting his hands in warm water. He gently pressed his hands against Blue’s wound causing a pained moan to tumble out of the feverish boy’s lips. 

Vio was quietly chatting with Green while Red babbled endlessly to Blue. Hyrule felt Blue’s thready heartbeat tremble under his blood-soaked figures. The boy’s blood thickened, and the bubbling blood began to slow and darken. 

Blue peeled open an eye. “‘Bout damn time,”

Red grinned wetly and pulled his brother in a hug, instantly drawing away when he winced in pain. Red opened his mouth, probably to apologize, but Vio elbowed the boy in the ribs. He crouched at Blue’s side and threw the boy’s arm over his shoulder, Green copying his brother on Blue’s right. 

Green turned to Wolfie, a strange glint in his eye. “Go alert Time, and get Wild too. He has all the red and green potions.”

The wolf nodded and trudged off. 

Red’s tearful gaze fell on Hyrule. “Are you okay? Do you need help too?”

Hyrule shook his head. He didn’t deserve the help, anyways. 

A stilted silence drifted onto the heroes as they prepared to leave the musty cell, occasionally broken by a pained groan from Blue or a rough inhale from Vio. Hyrule gazed at his hands, soaked in Blue’s bright red blood.

“What happened?” Green finally asked. His green-blue eyes shining with an emotion that Hyrule couldn’t quite place. 

_ A slick shrrrrrrk as the spear slid into Blue’s stomach like a key in a lock. _

Hyrule rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, his discomfort mounting when he forgot his hands were currently covered in blood. “We tried to escape, but we ended up being caught--”  _ because of me. _ “And Blue was impaled on a spear.” 

Vio looked like he wanted to make a sarcastic mark. His indigo eyes flickered to a tearful Red.

“Sorry--”

“Why’re you apologizing?” 

“Because, if I didn’t stand up for myself, and I didn’t let Blue stick up for me--”   
“Then you’d be in the exact same situation as him,” Vio interrupted calmly. He adjusted his grip on Blue’s arm, muttering a soft apology when he jostled his brother’s injury. “And besides, Blue’s an idiot. He woulda stood up for you no matter how hypothetically brave you woulda been.” 

he didn’t know Blue well enough to deny that statement, he supposed.

Red sniffled. “He’s a big dummy..” 

Before anyone could say anything else, Twilight and Wild came barreling in the halls. Wild held a small beaker, panting heavily. “Sorry we’re late, we got held up. ‘S all clear,” 

Twilight nodded curtly at the group and snagged the red potion from Wild’s scarred fingers, and offered it to Blue quietly. “Here, drink this. ‘Might not help with the whole blood loss thing, but'll seal the wound up quick,” 

With what Hyrule assumed to be a monumental effort, Blue chugged the red potion and roughly handed the now bloodstained bottle to Vio. Twilight shot a worried glance and Hyrule, before unsheathing his sword and brandishing it in front of him. He made a small  _ come on  _ hand gesture and ran back up the hall. Hyrule failed to notice the slight tremble in the way he held his sword. 

As soon as they exited the sewers, they were met with concerned questions. Legend grabbed Hyrule’s shoulders and roughly turned him over to check for injuries. Hyrule gave the boy a nervous grin then turned his attention back to Blue. 

His blood flow had all but stopped, the viscous liquid finally thickening and clotting. Red had removed the top of his tunic and tried to wash off all the blood with a cringe. 

Legend forcefully turned him away. “Hyrule, are you okay?”

“Y-” 

“ _ Bullshit _ ” Legend interrupted. It honestly felt like he expected Hyrule to answer like that. His ears flattened with embarrassment. Was he really that easy to read? “You aren’t, don’t lie to me.”

“You’re  _ not _ okay,” Legend repeated, the grip on his shoulder tightening infinitesimally.

“But..I’m not injured? Blue is, you should be asking him--”

Legend scowled at Hyrule. “ _ I know he’s injured jackass,  _ I meant are you  _ mentally _ okay.” 

“Oh.” 

He tried to ignore the soft scream of pain behind him. Legend handed him a cloth to wipe his hands. “There’s nothing you coulda done, ‘Rule. Blue’s stubborn as fuck, he woulda sacrificed himself for you anyways,” 

_ Sacrifice.  _

“Oh--Uhm...bad wording,” Legend mumbled shyly. “Still, my point still stands. There’s nothing you could have done. In the end, you repaid him by healing his wound. He’s okay now.” 

Legend wasn’t the best at comfort, Hyrule knew that. The  _ real _ comfort that came with Legend’s reassurance is that he was actually trying in the first place. He was better with subtle touches and duelling. He almost never tried to talk things out. 

Hyrule smiled warmly. The Vet’s words may not have entirely expunged his guilt; no, definitely not. But he appreciated the sentiment anyway. He hugged his predecessor tightly. “Thanks, veteran,” he mumbled. 

Legend stiffened at the contact. After a moment, he relaxed. “No probl’m ‘Rule.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I wouldn't mind continuing this? tell me if you'd like to see more! I'd love to write more, but for now, it's gonna be a one-shot. 
> 
> also, I combined day 3 and 4 because holy SHIIIIT I'm so far behind.


End file.
